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BWW Review: SWEENEY TODD at Shaw Festival
From it's ominous sounding opening organ chords, Stephen Sondheim makes it clear that you are in for a macabre evening of theatre as his masterpiece SWEENEY TODD begins. What sounds almost too gruesome to be appropriate for a musical has over the years had audiences and critics alike arguing whether...
BWW Review: Victorian Charmer ENGAGED Right at Home at Royal George Theatre
The Shaw Festival has unearthed a bit of a gem, that in lesser hands may be considered no more than a cubic zirconium. W.S. Gilbert's ENGAGED is a frothy trifle that seems perfect for a midsummer's night. This delightful piece of Victoriana theatre can best be thought of as a play with thin operet...
BWW Review: MATILDA is the Must See Summer Musical
A brilliant production of Matilda the Musical opened last night in Toronto at The Ed Mirvish Theatre. The show, which I saw in in London with the original cast, is truly a family musical for the age we currently live in....
BWW Review: BREATH OF KINGS: REBELLION & REDEMPTION at the Stratford Festival
This season at the Stratford Festival's Tom Patterson Theatre, audiences have the opportunity to witness Shakespeare's Henriad in a unique and exciting new way....
BWW Review: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC at the Stratford Festival is Art at Its Finest
The Stratford Festival's first ever staging of Stephen Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC is happening this season at the Avon Theatre. Directed by Gary Griffin, It is clever, it is delightful, it is funny, it is sad, and it is beautifully performed by everyone involved. Everyone I have spoken with who...
BWW Review: A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE at SHAW FESTIVAL
Ever the consummate commentator of society and gender, Oscar Wilde has never been afraid of controversy or potentially offending member of both sexes. Never has this been more evident than in his 1893 A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, which is receiving a glamorous new production at the Shaw Festival in Nia...
BWW Review: ALICE IN WONDERLAND at Shaw Festival
The Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake has pulled out all the stops on it's glittering new production of Lewis Carroll's ALICE IN WONDERLAND. This new version adapted for the stage by director Peter Hinton incorporates newly composed music by Allen Cole. While often an asset, the music can also be...
BWW Review: MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION is Sophisticatedly Scandalous
The Shaw Festival brings to life one of George Bernard Shaw's very own MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION. Directed by Eda Holmes, the production tells the story of a young woman's discovery of her mother's line of work - prostitution, and the events that follow. Led by Nicole Underhay as the title character ...
BWW Review: SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE at the Stratford Festival is Full of Heart
The North American premiere of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE opened on Saturday night at the Stratford Festival's Avon Theatre. This feel-good production is full of hilarious characters, stunning costumes, and clever references to the works of William Shakespeare. Most of all, though, it is full of heart....
BWW Review: OUR TOWN is a Poetic Look at Life, Love and Death
The Shaw Festival tackles Thornton Wilder's masterpiece OUR TOWN, directed by Molly Smith. The quiet tale is presented in three acts, following the story of a small town at the turn of the century. A number of years pass between each act, allowing for audiences to delve deeper in the lives - hopeful...
BWW Review: AS YOU LIKE IT at the Stratford Festival is a Fun Night at the Theatre
AS YOU LIKE IT opened on Friday at the Stratford Festival's Festival Theatre with a party…a literal party. Director, Jillian Keiley has set this production in her native Newfoundland, and as such, the play starts and finishes with the actors dancing about the stage and in the aisles whilst an on-s...
BWW Review: A CHORUS LINE is 'One Singular Sensation' Under Director Donna Feore
This week A Chorus Line at the Stratford Festival confirmed what I've already long suspected: Donna Feore is one of the greatest directors of musicals of our time. Year after year she has managed to put out a top notch main stage musical for the festival as good as anything you'll see on Broadway, T...
BWW Review: THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE at the Stratford Festival is a Magical Experience
THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE (from Schulich Children's Plays) opened at Stratford Festival's Avon Theatre on what became a magical Thursday evening. Based on the book by C.S. Lewis and dramatized by Adrian Mitchell, this production, directed by Tim Carroll is enchanting and fun for the entire...
BWW Review: ALL MY SONS at the Stratford Festival is Memorable and Moving
A memorable and moving production of Arthur Miller's ALL MY SONS opened at Stratford Festival's Tom Patterson Theatre on Wednesday evening. It is the story of a family trying to live a post-WWII American Dream, yet unwilling to acknowledge what had to be sacrificed in order to achieve it. The entire...
BWW REVIEW: INCIDENT AT VICHY is a Chilling Reminder of our Past
Alan Dilworth delves into Arthur Miller's library for a take on one of his lesser known plays, the one-act INCIDENT AT VICHY. A chilling tale of a scene at the brink of the second World War, the play follows the events of an interrogation room as a group of men await their fate as authorities vali...
BWW Review: FOREVER PLAID is a Charming Crowd-Pleaser
The Off-Broadway and Toronto favourite musical revue FOREVER PLAID finds it's way back onto the stage at the PANASONIC THEATRE. Highlighting the rise in fame of close-harmony groups in the 1950s, the show follows The Plaids, a four-piece group - Sparky, Smudge, Jinx and Frankie and their untimely de...
BWW Review: MACBETH at the Stratford Festival is Frighteningly Great and Greatly Frightening
The Stratford Festival officially opened its 64th Season with a frighteningly great (and greatly frightening) production of the Scottish Play. Director Antoni Cimolino brings us what is likely the darkest and grittiest play to grace the Festival Theatre stage in some time. This may be the eleventh t...
BWW Review: Charming and Delightful, THE HEIDI CHRONICLES is Still Timid
Soulpepper's latest production of Wendy Wasserstein's 1989 play, THE HEIDI CHRONICLES explores the changing role of women in society through the coming-of-age story of a woman named - you guessed it, Heidi. The production features a series of episodic scenes throughout Heidi's life; from an awkward ...
BWW Review: A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER is the Perfect Mix of Murder, Mayhem, and Good Old Fashioned Vaudeville Fun!
It's rare to go to the theatre and end up rooting for the bad guy - but that's exactly what audiences can expect to do at A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, which opened last night at the Princess of Wales Theatre....
BWW Review: UNCLE VANYA is a Fresh Take on a Chekov Classic
The Shaw Festival continues to launch its 2016 season with a fresh take on another classic - this time Anton Chekov's UNCLE VANYA. This moving dramedy explores family harmony and dysfunction with budding loyalties and conflicting love. Jackie Maxwell, outgoing artistic director at the Shaw Festival ...
BWW Review: Beautifully Designed, ALICE IN WONDERLAND Still Lacks Wonder
The anchor of the Shaw Festival's 2016 season is an ambitious musical adaptation of the beloved, ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Veteran Shaw visionary Peter Hinton breaths new life into the classic Lewis Carroll tale featuring 19 original songs under the musical direction of Allen Cole. Tara Rosling stars a...
BWW Review: Nancy Palk Shines in THE TESTAMENT OF MARY
The Bible features parables, stories and encounters of the life and trials of Jesus and his disciples; but a figure who is so prominent in that story - his mother, Mary, only speaks four times. Her role as a matriarch is often silent, and the Aaron Willis-directed THE TESTAMENT OF MARY, now playing ...
BWW Review: THE ODD COUPLE is a Spectacular Showcase of Soulpepper's Best
The new spring programming at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts begins with the return of Neil Simon's THE ODD COUPLE. This comedic classic of polar opposite friends-turned-roommates is an illustration of what Soulpepper does best - which is why this encore is on stage again until June 11. St...
BWW Review: AGAINST NATURE Translates the Bizarre into the Beautiful
Using the 1884 Joris-Karl Huysmans novel, À rebours as inspiration, James Kudelka brings a rich and intimate new modern opera to life - combining a decadent libretto and stunning choreography. AGAINST NATURE, now playing at The Citadel is Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie's latest work which tells the st...
BWW Review: Stratford Festival HD's THE ADVENTURES OF PERICLES Shines on the Big Screen
Stratford Festival HD's 2016 film series comes to a triumphant end with the release of THE ADVENTURES OF PERICLES on Saturday, May 7 at Cineplex theatres across the country, with encore screenings on Thursday, May 12. This live recording on the 2015 Stratford Festival hit is beautifully translated t...
Videos
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síofra Red Sandcastle Theatre (6/17-6/28) |
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AC/DC Rogers Stadium (9/16-9/16) |
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ANNULÉ - Il était une fois... Noël Théâtre Capitole (11/25-11/29) |
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Gershwin, Porter n Me: Vancouver Vocalist, NYC Pianist, Toronto Rhythm Section - Last Sunday in May Jazz Bistro (5/31-5/31) |
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UNIONVILLE CANADA DAY CELEBRATION Unionville Millennium Square (7/01-7/01) |
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Swan Lake by International Ballet Stars in Brantford, ON The Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts (3/16-3/16) |
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World On Fire The Assembly Theatre (5/27-6/07) |
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THE NUTCRACKER by The United European Ballet The Burlington Performing Arts Centre (11/18-11/18) |
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Moonstruck Comedy Bar (10/09-10/30) |
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TIME AND TRANSFORMATION Meridian Arts Centre – George Weston Recital Hall (6/20-6/20) |
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